-1 | The history of life

The fascinating story of life, a complex evolution of
forms regulated by dramatic environmental changes, mutating geography and
chance. Following the thread of human evolution over the past 5 billion years.

In this gallery, fossil remains accompany us on an
incredible journey back in time, from the appearance of the first molecules to
the evolution of dinosaurs and mammals following the thread of “our” history -
that of a bizarre thinking mammal. The first floor of the exhibition depicts
the natural phenomena that led to the formation of the Earth and, just over
half a billion years later, to the origin of the first life forms. After the
remains of some of the oldest traces of life on Earth, stromatolites, you can
meet the mysterious Ediacara life forms, dating back to some 600 million years
ago: a different structural organisation that reveals an alternative way of
being “animal”.

Following this is the incredible diversity of fauna that comes with the
explosion of life in the seas. The bizarre organisms of the Burgess Shale
Fauna, an extraordinary evolutionary laboratory over 500 million years old,
lead to the discovery of the fabulous forms of arthropods and the first
representative of the group of animals to which we ourselves belong, the
Chordates. The encounter with the bizarre jawless fish in the Silurian period
and with the armoured fish of the successive Devonian period gives us the key
to discover a now largely extinct element of biodiversity.
The next chapter in the long evolutionary history belongs to small plants with
no leaves or flowers, wingless insects and stocky amphibians. Through getting
to know their shapes the visitor retraces the first steps of a new era, that of
an Earth that is being populated.

The part devoted to terrestrial reptiles holds one of the
largest archives at the European level of fossil footprints of Paleozoic and
Mesozoic reptiles and dinosaurs. You can learn to recognise the characteristics
of the great reptiles footsteps and admire the imposing life size skeletons.
The dinosaurs gallery leads you on a journey which looks at their habits,
discoveries which have been made, and in particular traces found in Italy and even in the Dolomites where, until the end of
the last century, their discovery had been considered unlikely.
With marine reptiles, you are immersed in the waters of the Triassic.
Notosauri, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs... the seas are full of large and small
reptiles with surprising eating habits and lifestyles.

Dinosaurs and marine reptiles accompany you up until the
mass extinction of the Cretaceous-Tertiary: a catastrophic event in the history
of life. With the extinction of the dinosaurs, the chapter on the evolutionary
history of mammals begins. The rapid diversification of this group is narrated
by fossils and current specimens that illustrate the evolution of different
reproductive, feeding and locomotion strategies.
Man among primates, primates among mammals, mammals as the branch of a single,
large, intricate family tree whose roots lie in a remote era, the era of life's
history.

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Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Special stories revealed by DNA

The DNA gallery offers the visitor an evocative experience, based on a unifying
tale about DNA and all forms of life - including our own.
The first visual experience is the “Tree of Life”, a dynamic nine metre long
projection, which reveals the relentless unfolding of the evolutionary trail
and the connections between species.

The uniqueness of DNA, its operating mechanisms and
evolutionary processes are at the centre of three multimedia audio-visual
installations entitled “Where do we come from?”, “What are we?”and “Where are we going?”.

The stories are
enriched with special objects and artefacts different from those seen so far in
the museum. How much DNA do we share with other organisms? What do a shell and
the human heart have in common? These and many other questions are answered in
the DNA gallery.

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The Tropical greenhouse: Udzungwa, a Afromontana rainforest

With an area of 600 square metres, the tropical
greenhouse recreates a strip of rainforest from the Udzungwa Mountains, a
centre of diversity and endemism in Tropical East Africa in Tanzania. Crossing
the threshold of the greenhouse, you are greeted by the warm and humid tropics,
inviting you into the pristine forests of tropical Africa, where you will find
waterfalls and vertical cliffs, swirling waters and lush forest.

The route
starts from the Kilombero Valley and continues on to the moist submontane
forest, encountering along the way a kaleidoscopic diversity of shapes and
colours belonging to unique plants and animals.
Among the many unique plants and exclusive to tropical Africa, you will find
the Tabernaemontana genus, with its large white flowers similar to those of
jasmines, tree-ferns of the Cyathea genus, the well-known Saintpaulie that have
their centre of diversity here, wild bananas and giant bean plants, and a huge
vine of the Entada genus.

Once you have reached the plateau on top of the small
cliff, you can explore traditional vegetable gardens and villages passing by a
small market where you can observe tropical fruits and vegetables. The
greenhouse will also house animals, birds such as Livingstone's Turaco (Tauraco
livingtonii), and reptiles such as the Three-Horned Chameleon (Trioceros
deremensis) and pygmy chameleons (Rampholeon acuminatus and others).
The greenhouse setting will also reflect the issues of global and
sustainability, highlighting research projects and international efforts for
the protection of forests and the fight against poverty, inviting you to
actively support them.

Astatotilapia calliptera

Coccodrillo del Nilo sul fiume Kilombero

Costa del lago Tanganika

Camaleonte pigmeo

Camaleonte pigmeo

Neolamprologus leleupi

Riva sabbiosa del fiume Kilombero

Serra del Muse

Serra del Muse

Large aquariums: Water islands, evolution laboratories

Before entering the greenhouse, you will find a number of
large aquariums. The fish in these aquariums are representative of the fish
biodiversity of the Great Lakes and Tanzanian rivers (Lake Malawi, Lake
Tanganyika, Kilombero River) and belong mainly to the large family of cichlids
that in the great lakes of the Rift Valley in East Africa have given rise to
one of the most spectacular phenomena of speciation in relative isolation (an
aquatic version of what happened with the finches of the Galapagos islands,
though probably even faster and on a bigger scale).
The exhibits were bred in captivity by professional breeders and are confident,
calm and curious, and, mostly, they reproduce easily even in the limited space
that hosts them.